Sal Lopes

Sal Lopes received his BA and MA from the University of Hartford in Connecticut. After teaching in the Hartford school system devising a photographic program to promote reading and writing skills, he joined Richard Benson’s studio in Newport, Rhode Island, in the 1970’s. There, exhibitions and edition portfolios were produced for the likes of Paul Strand, Tina Modotti, and Edward Weston.

Later, Lopes continued the printing business on his own and specialized in the highly archival 19th century technique of platinum printing. He developed his own style of hand-coated prints in black and white, and the exquisite results have been sought after by notable art photographers worldwide.

Photographic work

Over a period of five years in the 1980’s Sal Lopes created a major body of personal work documenting the newly built Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. He captured the intense emotions of mourning, healing and loss among its visitors. The work culminated in the much-acclaimed book "The Wall: Images and Offerings From The Vietman Veterans Memorial" [Lopes, Sal and M. Norman. 1987. The Wall: Images and Offerings from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. San Francisco: Collins. -Hardcover.] . Numerous one-man exhibitions followed at the Chrysler Museum, ICP in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Art and elsewhere.

Lopes’ next project was another "memorial", but this time dealing with the AIDS epidemic. He produced a documentary in three sections: First, covering the traveling AIDS quilt in Boston and Washington; second, a volunteer "Buddy" program through the AIDS Action Committee [Cole, Diane. June 26, 1994. "IN SHORT: NONFICTION; The Face of AIDS." New York Times.] in Boston which paired volunteer companions with persons with AIDS; and third, documenting the daily life of a childless couple who adopted 5 HIV siblings, and of the care and love given to the youngest who received home treatments for AIDS and died shortly after the book was published. The book, "Living With AIDS: A Photographic Journal" [Lopes, Sal. 1994. Living With AIDS: A Photographic Journal: Bulfinch, Little Brown.] , and a subsequent series of traveling exhibitions received wide recognition.

More recently Lopes has altered his photographic focus to “portraits” of trees, surrealistic macro images [Smith, Rosalind. 2003. "The Microscopic World Of Sal Lopes: Images Of Worlds Often Hidden To Our Eyes." Shutterbug.net, Features.] , and a large body of work on horses (Horse Spirit) and, most recently, water abstractions. No longer documentary, these are art photographs. Some are printed in platinum, although he has also experimented with digital imaging and color printing. His photographs have appeared in many magazines and articles, and are found in a number of private collections. More than 130 of his photographs are owned by museums.

Lopes has had broad experience as a workshop instructor, teaching at the Maine Photographic Workshops, Savannah Photographic Workshops, in Turin, Italy, and at his studio in Boston, MA

Master printer

His renown as a printer and photographic problem-solver drew notable artists, collectors, museums, and galleries to order prints, editions, and portfolios. Lopes’ range of printing encompasses the Civil War photographers Matthew Brady and Alexander Gardner to many contemporary photographers. His biggest client until his death was Horst P. Horst. Lopes has printed the work of: George Hoyningen-Huene, Alfred Stieglitz, Robert Mapplethorpe, Herb Ritts, Mary Ellen Mark, Ruth Bernhard, Helen Levitt, Robert Rauschenberg, George Platt Lynes, Anderson and Low, James Fee, Linda Connor, Lisette Model, Lotte Jacobi, Peter Lindbergh, Richard Gere, Phil Trager, Greg Gorman, Mark Seliger, Keith Carter, Henry Horenstein, Philippe Halsman, Nadav Kander, Ralph Mecke, Jill Freedman, Louis Faurer, Roger Urban (Rudolf Nureyev)and others. He has had commissions from Aperture Foundation for David Wojnarowicz, the Estate of Paul Strand, Edward Weston, Barbara Morgan, Dorothea Lange, Minor White, from the Estate of Edward Weston, LIFE Gallery of Photography (Margaret Bourke-White), Vision Gallery (Ruth Bernhard, Judy Dater, Paul Caponigro, Otto Hagel, Hansel Mieth, Mario Cravo), the Estate of Nickolas Muray (portraits of Frida Kahlo), Estate of Edward Weston, Staley-Wise Gallery, Fahey/Klein Gallery, Debra Heimerdinger Fine Art (David Halliday), Light Work, Camera Work, Berlin, Roger Urban.

Exhibitions

Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA 1988, 1994
International Center of Photography (ICP) New York, 1990
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL 1988
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA 1988
Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA 1997
Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA 1989
Reiss-Engelhorn Museum, Mannheim, Germany 2003
Musee de l’Elysee, Lausanne, Switzerland 2002
Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT, 1974
Grove Gallery, University of California at San Diego, San Diego, CA 1989
Danforth Museum, Framingham, MA 2000
Arvada Center for the Arts, Arvada, CO 1990
Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC 1987
Jack Leigh Gallery, Savannah, GA 2007

Collections

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francicso, CA
Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA
Telfair Museum, Savannah, GA
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Musee de l’Elysee, Lausanne, Switzerland
Reiss-Engelhorn Museum, Mannheim, Germany
Lehigh University Art Gallery, Bethlehem, VA
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Jerome Robbins Dance Collection, New York, NY

Books

"The Wall: Images and Offerings From The Vietnam Veterans Memorial", Collins Publishers, 1987
"Living With AIDS: A Photographic Journal", published by Bullfinch/Little Brown, 1994
"Life Behind the Metaphor: Rudolf Nureyev and the Dutch National Ballet", published by The Nureyev Legacy Project, 2007

Publications

Photography Speaks Vol. 1 & 2, Brooks Johnson, Aperture PublicationsPandemic Facing Aids, Umbrage Editions, 2003The Vietnam Experience, Time-Life Books, Boston Publishing 1990Time-Life Yearbook, Time-Life Books, 1980
National Geographic magazineGerman GEO
Photo (French magazine)Black and White MagazinePhoto District NewsPhotoPro MagazinePeople Magazine
New York Times Book Review

External links

http://www.sallopesphoto.com
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E7DA163DF935A15755C0A962958260&scp=1&sq=Sal+Lopes&st=nyt#
http://www.shutterbug.net/features/0903sb_themicroscopic/
http://nureyevlegacy.org/platinum-prints.asp

References